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Where is The WICB Headed? (Part 2)

Wed, Jul 9, '03

by KEN WALTERS

When I closed
part one of this series, we had established the iron-clad grip
of the Executive Committee (EC) on the affairs of the West Indies
Cricket Board (WICB) and the role of Reverend Wes Hall as chief
cook.

In these circumstances, it is sufficient to question the moral
compulsion of the EC members to adopt any means necessary policy to
carry on their programs started under Hall's presidency. It is time
for the EC to stand back and allow the stakeholders and
shareholders to independently assess the last two years of the
WICB.

The ensuing debate should question how well the Strategic Plan
was implemented, the quality of leadership required and whether the
EC should to be restructured.

If the Strategic Plan put together in November 2000 was a good
one and if the next revision of the Plan is relevant to the future
environment in which the WICB will operate, then there should be no
fear of lack of continuance since any incoming President and Vice
President would have to follow the organisation's Plan and the
issue is therefore the skills and competence of the nominated
candidates to manage and implement the Plan.

Chetram Singh is the Presidential nominee of the
status-quo. To his credit, he has led the Guyana Cricket Board
(GCB), with some success for the last ten years and has contributed
to expanding the game throughout Guyana. He is known as a skilled
businessman with the ability to twist arms to get things done.
However, his achievements have come at great cost to his reputation
and character.

As a WICB director, Chetram Singh was openly opposed to the
Leeward and Windward islands receiving a special dispensation of
additional grant funds to compensate them for the additional costs
they incurred (mostly travel for competitions and camps).

It is a pattern with the 'leadership' of the EC. Here's Stephen
Alleyne in the Barbados Nation recently: "The major element
prompting the move towards a second ground (in Barbados during the
proposed World Cup 2007] is the cost of moving television equipment
between venues. It has been realised that island-to-island travel
is ten times higher than land travel. You may well find the
finances and economics of moving to a ground somewhere in Barbados
are much cheaper than having to go to a ground in Tobago, St Lucia
or St Vincent, for example.

At the September 2003 meeting of the WICB Board of Directors,
the management proposed that Guyana be scheduled only for an ODI
instead of a test match in the 2003 C&W Series against
Australia. The rationale was that Guyana contributed much more
profits from ODI games rather than Test matches compared to the
other territories.

Chetram Singh and his sidekick WICB director from Guyana, Bish
Panday, rose in protest, threatened to walk out of the meeting and
withdraw Guyana from membership of the WICB. To get the Guyanese
directors back to the meeting the other directors capitulated,
reversed their better judgement and granted Guyana the Test by
removing a Test from Jamaica where a better pitch, crowd, and
better financial returns would have been obtained.

Here was a territory holding the WICB to ransom. If the Board
was firm, the following would have occurred:

Singh and Panday would have returned to Guyana to brief the
Guyana Board and people.

All Guyanese would have concluded that by withdrawing membership
in the WICB, then Guyana would not play in any WICB competition at
any level.

Guyanese would not be selected on West Indies teams at any
level.

Tour matches would not be played in Guyana in the future.

All of Guyana would not have accepted this position and would
have booted out Singh and Panday as their representatives on the
WICB.

This was clearly not behaviour becoming a WICB director and
clearly not the behaviour becoming and expected of a future WICB
President whose first remit is to unite the members of the WICB.
But Guyanese who attempt to democratically oppose Singh and Panday
in Demerara and Guyana Cricket Board elections know only too well
the lengths these gentlemen are prepared to go to protect and
maintain their status quo.

Proof of this is available from the mouths of the great Rohan
Kanhai and Basil Butcher, two former heroes who were belitted
publicly by Singh and his cohorts within the GCB.

There is also International concern about Singh and his
suitability as a Cricket Administrator. Sources at the WICB tell me
that ICC anti-corruption Czar Sir Paul Condon has written to the
WICB President Wes Hall questioning Singh's ownership and operation
of the Goodwood Racing Service, a betting establishment.

Lord Condon, in his 2001 report on Corruption in World Cricket,
told the ICC and its members to delink themselves from business
interests linked to television (serving on committees who award
contracts for TV rights). He also emphatically told them to face up
to the perceptions involved in combining senior positions in
cricket administration with personal business interests in betting
and gaming.

The ICC, in response to Lord Condon's recommendations, adopted
the policy that each ICC Director signs the Executive Board
Declaration in which reference is made to conflicts of interest and
that Directors be bound to the Code of Ethics Policy. Essentially,
the policy covers only ICC Executive Board Officials and Directors.
It is clear that Singh's presidency is in conflict with ICC rules
governing Member directors serving on the ICC Executive Board, but
the EC seem to have this covered by planning for someone else other
than Singh to serve at the ICC.

Concerned also about corruption, role ambiguity, and conflicts
of interests, the ICC proposed that ICC member countries adopt a
similar code in their governing organisations. One only has to make
a fool's guess that the EC did not propose this to any board
meeting in order to protect Singh's tenure on the committee and the
Board.

The question for all stakeholders is do we want this kind of
governance in the premier West Indian sport? The answer is
obvious.

E. Valentine Banks from Anguilla and the Leeward Islands
is the incumbent vice president Singh's running mate. He holds the
distinction of not being chairman of any committee of the WICB
after being removed as Chairman of the Development Committee and
then the Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee.

My sources tell me that Hall, who confessed at first that his
strength was cricket operations and development and did not know
anything about finance, asked Banks to switch from Development to a
newly created committee, Finance and Audit. Banks' role was to head
the important Audit Committee so that independent financial
oversight could be exercised over the Board's funds.

However, there were other reasons for Banks' demise. The
power-brokers convinced Hall that in politics, the prime Minister
must have hands-on control of the finances or up and coming
ministers could usurp his power and control. Now, remember, Hall
was very familiar with this situation being a former politician for
over 15 years. In less that no time, Hall had total control after
removing Banks from the Audit Committee.

Having emasculated Banks, Hall was now in charge of Finance and
Audit, EC, Cricket Development and Playing and the World Cup
Interim Committee which has had a long interim tenure because of
Hall's reluctance to incorporate and launch the West Indies World
Cup 2007 Company, a move that transfers power to an independent
Board.

Sources say that, in the interim, Hall has proposed and
appointed his former cricket teammate Rawle Branker as President of
the World Cup Company. Privately, Hall let his friends know that he
was very disappointed in Banks for embarrassing him and the WICB
over the West Indies Cricket Lottery fiasco. This is one aspect of
Hall's presidency that he chooses not to discuss publicly.

Notwithstanding, Hall let it slip that early in his Presidency,
he consulted with Pat Rousseau the former WICB President, under
whom he had served as Chairman of Selectors and with whom he
enjoyed a good relationship. The two agreed that there were a
number of projects started under Rousseau which would be crucial to
continue for the financial interest and future of the WICB.

Hall, not being versed in finance and not wanting to let his
pastoral calling interfere with WICB's future, sent Banks to
Jamaica to be briefed by Rousseau. At that meeting, Rousseau told
Banks all he knew about the lottery project and passed over all the
files to Banks to take over the project.

Banks, who was part of the clique that helped overthrow Rousseau
and Joseph, was reluctant to take direction from projects initiated
by Rousseau. He was further confused and interpreted that his
President being a Christian minister, would not condone gambling
and betting. In agony, Banks sat on the files for a year and did no
work to advance the lottery project.

Readers should know that the lottery project was a joint
initiative between the CARICOM Governments, the University of the
West Indies (UWI) and WICB. Money raised by the lottery would be
used to finance Carifesta, expansion of the University, finance
cricket development within WICB territories and provide much needed
funds for developing stadia and other facilities for the World Cup
in 2007.

In mid 2002, CARICOM and UWI wrote to Hall much to his surprise
that they had not heard from the WICB in over a year and it
appeared that the WICB had effectively compromised the project and
its potential benefits. To regain face, Hall convincingly assured a
CARICOM meeting chaired by Minister Guy Yearwood of his commitment
to the project and speedily appointed Teddy Griffith to take over
the development of the Lottery project from Banks.

Griffith, as everyone knows is the consummate professional with
his heart in West Indies cricket. A man dedicated to serve when
ever called upon to do so. A gentleman of tremendous talents. He
was even selected as a batsman for the WICB and played for both
Barbados and Jamaica. A man of integrity.

Griffith reported to the AGM meeting in May 2002 that having
reviewed the files and consulted with Rousseau and others, that if
the WICB wanted the lottery to get of the ground with speed and
effect, that the Board would need to appoint Pat Rousseau, the
person who knew the most about the project, the person who could
open doors in all the Governments of CARICOM.

The Board was not prepared for this bold, daring and
gut-wrenching recommendation. In unison, Trinidad, Barbados, Guyana
and the Leeward directors all said vehemently objected to
Roussseau's appointment. Too much water had flowed under the
bridge. Hall's mission of reconciliation and healing fell flat on
its face and like Caesar, he must have turned to Banks and said "Et
tu Valentine" who raised his hands to support his fellow
conspirators.

** Look out for the third and final part that includes
details of a little-known US$8 million marketing deal between the
WICB and the South African Investment Limited (SAIL), a sports
investment company out of South Africa.